This is the journal of the Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU), presenting UFO and paranormal cases from Spain, South America and the Caribbean

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Argentina: A Father and Son UFO Sighting

The UFO sighting in Rio Cuarto, CordobaBy Mario L. Bracamonte

Date: December 23 2008Witnesses: they have chosen to remain anonymous at their own request. However all information is in the researcher's possession. Location: Rio Cuarto, Argentina

These events occurred in the sky over Rio Cuarto on the night of December 23rd. Around midnight, the witness stepped out of his house to the backyard to do some stargazing, as he is an amateur astronomer, and is especially fond of observing the night sky through binoculars. The afternoon had been rainy and the night sky was partly cloudy.

But as is the case after a rainfall, visibility was very good, as the rain had swept away impurities that float in the air and the stars appeared with greater clarity than usual. There is considerable street lighting in this neighborhood and it was necessary for the witness to take several minutes to adapt his eyesight for observation.

As the clouds dissipated, the witness invited his two sons plus two friends -- a 15 year-old girl and a 17 year-old boy -- to join him in stargazing as the clouds dissipated one by one. To do this, they sat comfortably on cloth-backed chairs and leaned back to watch the skies.

At first, the witness and his guests observed the various shapes adopted by the clouds, as they constantly change due to the slight prevailing wind at the time.

As the sky grew clearer, the witness looked for his binoculars (Tasco 15 X 50s, that is to say, having a maximum of 15 magnifications with 50 mm lenses) to scan the sky. Observations were made looking toward the zenith and toward the south with the exception of a single opportunity in which they look at the stars located farther north. They could see Orion's Belt, but only for a few minutes.

They concentrated their attention on the Southern Cross and other constellations in the general direction southeast of the city of Rio Cuarto. Over the course of two hours they saw several shooting stars a few satellites, some clearly marked meteorites in the sky, as well as a flight of migratory birds traveling in a flock and in formation.

Around 115 in the morning only the witness and his son remained, the girl had gone to bed. Minutes later, at the precise moment that neither one of them was pointing binoculars at the sky (they were around the son's neck at the time) something happened which lasted no longer than four or five seconds, a fraction of time to many, but which left the witness spellbound.

The time was exactly 1:35 in the morning when the witness and his son looked east: At an altitude no greater than 45 degrees they saw the swift and silent movement of two objects traveling from the east in their direction.

The witness’s son was only able to exclaim: "What’s that?!" while the witness himself remains stunned by the sight. For a fraction of the second he thought it was a flight of birds, since the objects color was light brown, nearly caramel colored, as he later described them. They noticed that these two flying objects had flown in from the east toward the west at an altitude of 45 degrees and later flew over their heads, vanishing to the West at the same altitude.

No more than five seconds elapsed between the beginning and end of this sighting. Both witnesses agreed that the objects were teardrop-shaped, tips pointing eastward, caramel colored, with dim lights and a dark center.

Both witnesses followed the transit of the objects unaided. Not having binoculars allowed them to see the spectacle, which was over very quickly. The witness says that the objects were 10 times faster than the fastest satellites they recall seeing, and at a much lower altitude. Both objects flew side by side with one of them half a body ahead of the other. Their trajectory was at low-altitude, no greater than that of a propeller driven plane, although it was not possible to calculate the distance. Personally, the witness believes that the objects were no more than 2000 or 3,000 m above the ground. The witnesses did not observe any maneuvers, only a swift, straight-line movement.

The witness was reminded of military parades in the past, when Mirage fighters would fly a low overhead, vanishing between the buildings. Except that in this case, the altitude involved was higher, there was no noise, the objects were luminous, and their altitude was similar to that of a Cessna aircraft. The son asked the father if he too had seen them, and wanted to know what they had just seen. The objects had no similarity to any aircraft that they knew.

The boy was greatly excited by the sighting. The older witness says that he was astonished and pleased by what he’d seen. It could not be identified. Both father and son agreed that whatever they saw were neither birds, nor aircraft, satellites, meteorites nor anything known to them. The witness adds that he has been watching the sky for 30 years and has never seen anything similar. (Translation (c) 2009, S. Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology. Special thanks to Mario Bracamonte and Guillermo Gimenez)

About Me

The Institute of Hispanic Ufology was established in October of 1998 with the appearance of the first issue of Inexplicata. The organization currently has representatives and contributing editors in over a dozen Spanish-speaking countries. Director: Scott Corrales.